Splash!
by breaking-t-h-e rush
Summary: Another "sister" story.XD Hope you enjoy. A simple mission, really...and everything went wrong...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: don't own…never will, just borrowing =) and yes I know many don't like fictional sisters, but I'll have stories with just the boys too...eventually.**

"ASH!" Alan screamed as his sister vanished beneath a particularly large wave. They shouldn't have been in the water anyway, as their brothers were away on a mission and the two youngest Tracys were stuck at home-again. Alan actually knew better; why had he let Ash talk him into this? He growled in frustration at himself. If she got hurt…he winced at the thought.

Frantically, he scanned the deceivingly clear blue water. No sign of his dark-haired sister. A dark dread settled in the pit of his stomach. He swam to where she had disappeared and called again. "ASH! Come on! Where are you?" he yelled. It had been minutes since she had gone. He was almost hysterical now. Just as he was about to give in and call his father and brothers to search for his missing sister, her dark head appeared.

"Ash!" Alan yelled and hurriedly swam over to his sister. "Aislinn, are you ok?"

She looked at him, startled by his concern. "I wasn't under that long, Al. What's got you freaked?"

He looked at her incredibility written across his features. "You were under almost three minutes! I didn't know what happened to you and-sheesh Ash don't do that me!"

Ash sighed. "Sorry Al, didn't know you'd freak. I guess I didn't realize how long I was under. We should probably be getting out anyway 'cause rest of them will be back soon."

Alan nodded, still visibly shaken by his sister's sudden disappearance. Together, the siblings walked out of the water and hurried back to the villa to shower away the sea salt.

...

That had been just over a year ago. It had been during Christmas break, before the Hood's attack and Alan, Tin-Tin, and Fermat's induction into the ranks of IR. Ash had been at school that week, working on advanced geometry and science classes and practicing with her lacrosse and soccer teams. She had been sick for a week before and had lots of work to make up.

Now she sighed as her brothers again jetted off to go rescue the survivors of an earthquake in Indonesia. She watched until they disappeared over the horizon then walked to a cove. She pulled out a plastic-wrapped bundle and unwrapped the object. A scarred surfboard peeked out of its coverings. Ash made quick work of the wrap and tossed herself to the waves.

...

"OK, boys, there's still the threat of aftershocks, so watch it." Jeff's voice came over the comm system. "The major damage was done outside of the cities and one large village was hit pretty bad, but other than that local rescue can handle it."

"FAB, dad" the voices of his five sons reached him. They surveyed the damage as they came in for a landing. There were a few collapsed buildings, but other than that, there didn't seem to be too much rubble.

"No fires, no floods, no screaming people. Shouldn't be too hard" Gordon commented.

"Don't jinx it!" said Alan in mock horror.

"Boys" Jeff said warningly. "Let's just get this done and over with."

Alan and Scott took over the job of going into building and digging through rubble for those too injured to move. Virgil treated the slightly wounded and Gordon and Jeff transported the ones with major wounds to a hospital that had made itself available for the job.

In all, it was uneventful mission. The situation was handled in a matter of mere hours."Let's go home" Jeff said as the family got into their respective 'birds.

...

Ash glanced at the sky. Just a few minutes it had been an idyllic blue. She frowned. It was now a threatening grey. The waves had grown in size, and she could feel a faint rip forming. Her feet dangled off both sides of the board as she contemplated her position. Probably just enough time for one more wave, she mused.

Aislinn surveyed the waves now rolling toward her. She chose a nice-looking 6 footer and pushed her board along with it. It picked up the board easily and Ash stood as the beach neared. Suddenly, she felt a slight tug at the bottom of her board. The wave suddenly gained height and crashed over her. Her body was slammed to the sandy ground and tossed in the roiling current.

The wave receded and she lifted her head from the sand, just to be blinsided by another wave. "Ouch" she muttered, carefully brushing sand from her tender skin. She rewrapped her board and stowed it away under a log. Sore, she started walking home as the wind picked up and the first fat raindrops slammed into the earth. She was still quite a ways from the villa when she heard the unmistakeable rumble of the 'birds as they came in. "I'm so toast" she muttered to the wind.

...

Scott happily landed his 'bird as the downpour began in earnest. His brothers looked around contentedly. "Glad that's over" Scott said.

"If we could hurry through debriefing, I could still catch the 450cc race today" Alan said.

Jeff grinned. "I can take a hint, Alan. Let's get the debriefing over with so we can all go take a shower and relax" he said with a chuckle. "We couldn't possibly let Alan miss this race"

Gordon grinned evilly. "That would be absolutely torturous, wouldn't it?"

Alan groaned and joined his brothers as they entered the debriefing room. The debrief went quickly and Alan vanished as soon as he was allowed. The brothers were all chatting and joking about the mission as they walked to their respective rooms when Virgil suddenly stopped dead. "Where's Ash? She usually meets us as soon as we're off the 'birds, and we haven't seen her at all."

Scott stopped and turned to his brother. "She does, usually" he mused. He felt his big-brother over-protectiveness kick in. He glanced worriedly at the torrent of lashing rain drumming on the window. "She wouldn't be out in this would she? She knows better than to go out when we're gone." He said, worry creased in his features.

...

Ash wearily trudged through the sheets of rain. Lightning slashed across purple-grey clouds and the wind whipped stray debris through the air. She walked through the storm, desperate to get home and dreading the lecture she was bound to receive. Her body was sore and she could feel bruises forming on her shoulders and back. Her skin stung from the sand that had scoured it and there was a burning pain in her ankle. Yep, she was going to get it.

She could now see the faint fuzziness of lights in the distance. She sighed and would have walked faster to get out of the downpour, but her ankle hurt too much.

"Lovely" she muttered as she neared the villa and the lights lost their fuzziness and became clear. Dejectedly, she pushed the door open and was immediately set upon by three anxious brothers. "Aislinn, where have you been?"

Her dark hair was plastered to her pale face and her clothes hung, dripping, from her slim frame. Her lips had a bluish tinge and beneath the pallor, her skin was raw and torn. A myriad of tiny cuts covered her body and she looked absolutely exhausted.

"What happened?"

"Are you ok?"

"You know not to go out without one of us!"

Ash held up a hand. "Interrogation later. Shower first" she said and slowly walked toward her room.

Jeff appeared a moment later. "What's this about Ash missing?" he demanded.

Scott sighed, knowing it was up to him to inform his father. "Ash just walked through the door. She said she was going to take a shower, then answer questions."

Jeff's face was a map of anger and concern. "Have her come to my office ASAP." He said and turned to leave.

Ash sighed in relief as the hot water washed over her battered body. It stung her cold skin, but it felt good. Really, really good. She washed what little sand was left in her hair out and carefully washed her body. Soap pricked the tiny lacerations in her skin. She ignored the pain and savored the warmth.

After showering, she dressed in comfortable shorts and a t-shirt. Cautiously, she emerged from her room. She walked slowly down the hall, her movement inhibited by her ankle. She rounded a corner and ran right into Virgil. Snap. "Dad wants to see you, Ash, in his office." He told her. "And as soon as he's done with you I want you in the infirmary, got it?" he added.

She tried to protest. "Virge, really, I didn't hurt myself or anything."

He gave her a skeptical glance. "Infirmary" he said, his voice commanding.

She shrugged in submission. "Fine" she muttered and walked up to her father's office. She took a steadying breath; her father was going to _kill_ her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: don't own**

Hesitantly, Ash knocked on her father's door. "Come in" came his voice. She winced and opened the door. Her father was sitting at his desk, papers in neat piles around him. She could see John's face on the vid-screen in front of him. "Thanks John, keep us updated." He said and disconnected the call.

Jeff turned to his daughter. She avoided his glance. He sighed. "You had better have a good explanation for this Aislinn Carter Tracy."He said, his voice icy cool.

She winced inwardly. _Beyond dead_.

"Aislinn, look at me" her father commanded.

Ash brought her head up. "I don't have an explanation." She said her voice flat and detached.

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "You know that you are not allowed off the grounds without at least one of your brothers! Didn't you know there was a storm coming? What would have happened if you had slipped and couldn't walk, Aislinn? You are not thoughtless, what possessed you to go off alone?" he yelled, his voice rising with each sentence.

"I didn't realize the storm would hit so fast" she said quietly. "I didn't know how far I walked. I'm sorry dad"

"You have to think, Ash! What if this was a rescue and you just decided to wander off?"

With each word, Ash seemed to shrink.

"You're grounded for a week. Maybe that will teach you to think." He said tiredly.

Ash opened her mouth to say something, and then snapped it shut. _But daddy I never get to do anything. I just sit around here and watch you and my brothers going off and putting their lives in danger. I feel so left out. I know you do this to keep me safe, but daddy, I want you to let me go and make my own decisions and mistakes._ Like _that _would ever happen. She turned and walked out of her father's office, dejected.

Jeff watched his daughter leave and sighed heavily. If he had told that to Alan or Gordon, they would have yelled right back. Ash just took things blankly, never giving a hint to whether she was angry or sad or indignant or anything, really. She was like john in that respect, but she was just as headstrong and reckless as his youngest could be.

All he wanted was for his family to be happy and safe. He wanted Ash safe, and she could get hurt on rescues, heck, any of his sons could. It wasn't that he doubted Ash's abilities or intelligence, but she didn't always think about consequences. That and he couldn't stand seeing his only girl in danger.

…

Ash wanted to cry, she really did. She wanted to go to one of her brothers and just cry. But her tear ducts just weren't working. With a heavy sigh, she walked into the infirmary. Virgil was waiting for her and Scott was sitting off to one side. "What did you do, Ash?" Virgil asked, in a purely medical way.

"I fell" Ash muttered.

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Sure you did. Where do you hurt?"

Ash sighed. "My ankle. I landed on it."

Virgil gently took her ankle and probed it with his fingers. Ash winced as he hit a tender spot. Virge looked up. "It hurts here?" he asked touching the spot again.

Ash nodded. Virgil carefully turned her ankle and probed it a bit more. "It doesn't seem broken and you can clearly walk on it. There's a small cut where you said it hurts and it seems to be sprained, not badly, but enough so that I'm telling-ordering-you to stay off it. You're not hurting anywhere else?"

Ash shook her head. "Just tired"

Virgil nodded. "I'll wrap your ankle, then you can go."

Scott stood up. "So Ash, what were you doing out there? Alone?" he questioned.

"I went for a walk because I felt cooped up here. Yes I knew there was a storm coming; I lost track of time." She muttered.

"Ash" Scott said, his voice low and slightly angry. "I know when you're lying. What were you really doing out there?"

She became suddenly interested in her ankle. Virgil was just finishing wrapping it. "Ash, if you start to not feel well, I want to know. Exposure like that lowers your immunity and I don't want you sick." He said.

Ash shrugged.

"I mean it Aislinn, you had better tell me." He turned to his older brother. "Scott, could you help Ash to her room? She shouldn't put weight on that ankle."

Scott nodded and scooped his sister up. "Hey" she protested. "Scott put me down! I'll lean on you but don't carry me!" She said.

Scott grinned mischievously. "Oh no. Dr. Virgil over there said no weight on the ankle. I'm carrying you, no questions asked."

Ash groaned and tried to wiggle out of his grasp. "You knew this would happen!" She glared at Virgil. He, for his part, shrugged innocently as Scott carried her to her room.

Scott carefully laid his sister on her bed and took a seat on it's edge. "So what really happened, Ash? I'm not leaving until I hear the truth."

It was no idle threat, Ash knew. She sighed. Scott would not be happy. "I went swimming in the cove" she told him.

"You what? Ash you know better! What _ever _happened to the buddy system? Gosh Ash you could have drowned and we never would have known." He took a deep breath. That thought scared him, much more then he would ever let his sister know-she was feeling guilty enough as it was.

Ash finally felt the sharp pricking behind her eyes and tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Scotty. I…I wasn't thinking and I totally lost track of the time" she sobbed.

Scott pulled the girl against his chest and let her cry. "Shhhh, Ash. Everything's ok now. You're not going to make that mistake again." He soothed and gently rubbed her back.

She took a deep breath. "Thanks Scotty" she said quietly.

He smiled at her. "You look exhausted", he told her. "Get some sleep, 'kay"

She nodded and removed herself from his embrace. Scott stayed on her bed until she was comfortable. Soon her breathing evened. "Sweet dreams, Ash" he murmured as he walked out the door.

Alan was waiting in the hallway outside Ash's room. "Is she ok?" he asked softly. He had been gnawed by feelings of intense guilt since he learned about his sister's predicament. He should have told her to stop. He should have warned her. Gosh, he could be so stupid. His sister could have_ died _and it was his fault.

Scott noticed the worry in his brothers features. "She sprained her ankle and she's exhausted, but she'll be fine." He said.

Alan breathed a sigh of relief. Scott didn't need to know about her excursions…yet. Alan knew better than to believe his sister would be still for long.

...

**Thanks to those who reviewed =) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own…just borrowing =)**

That night, the klaxon alarm rang at about 11:30. Ash sat bolt upright in bed, then sighed as she heard her brothers' steps pounding as they hurried to their respective 'birds. She fell back into her pillows and groaned. She never could sleep when her brothers were on a rescue.

…

"What's up, John?" Scott asked as they jumped into their 'Birds.

"We've got a collapsed bridge in northern Michigan. Water below is cold, just above freezing. There are a few cars in the water, but the big problem is a school bus teetering on the edge of the upright part, about to fall in. There are about 20 kids trapped inside and local rescue doesn't have the equipment to get them out." John reported. "Both sets of doors are un-openable as of now. One set is crushed closed and the emergency door is jammed against the guardrail.

"Thanks John, keep us updated." Jeff said. "We'll need weather conditions and a radio link with local rescue."

John nodded. "FAB"

The boys performed the pre-flight checks with practiced ease, and were soon in the air and rocketing to the scene. John kept them informed to the situation, so when they arrived, they knew exactly what to do.

"You'll have to approach on foot, because the disturbed air from TB2 could push the bus over." Jeff warned.

"FAB, Dad. Alan and Gordon can hook up lines to the bus and then we can pull the bus out." Scott said. "Dad and I can help on the ground." he added.

"Do I have any choice?" their father joked back.

"Sorry Dad" Scott said.

Jeff laughed it off. "I would have said the same thing."

They arrived on scene and disembarked. "Al, Gordon, be careful" Jeff warned as his two youngest boys hooked themselves to safety lines.

"FAB" came the expected reply. The two boys started across the dangerously tilting bridge. Carefully, they approached the bus. The anxious faces of kids peeked out from behind windows covered with frost. Alan and Gordon each took a rescue line and attached it to both ends of the bus. Alan surveyed the work. "I think we need two more lines" he said over the comm.

Gordon cast a critical eye over their work. "Al's right, we should add the extra lines" he said. "Soon" he added as the remaining upright part of the bridge began to teeter forward. "Very soon" he shouted.

"Releasing extra lines" came Virgil's calm voice. Two lines were launched from Two and caught by the bridge's guardrail.

"Lines received, Two. Thanks Virge" Gordon said as he grabbed one line and handed the other to Alan. "Let's get this bus outta here."

…

Scott and Jeff came to the rescue scene and immediately began to help local rescue with the recovery of the cars in the water. The bridge was over a rather large ravine, but it was too narrow for any of the 'birds.

"Is anyone in the water?" Jeff questioned a fireman working nearby.

The fireman shook his head. "They all got out. No one was badly hurt, but we need to get the cars out before they're taken downstream. There's another bridge down there-the ravine gets shallow and there's barely a few feet of clearance- and if we don't stop these cars, they'll smash it to pieces. Warmed up too fast and the water's already caused enough damage. With the sudden freeze, chunks of ice have been coming down and washing out the bridges." He said with a shake of his head.

Jeff nodded. He and Scott helped launch tow ropes to the fallen vehicles and dug away snow and scraped away ice to give the tow trucks traction.

A cheer went up as the bus was lifted away. "Got it!" said Virgil, Gordon and Alan, almost in sync with each other.

The last car was pulled out of the water not much later. Virgil had dropped the bus off at the nearest hospital and was just returning. "Do you need me down there?" he asked as he approached.

"No, Virge, we're coming up now. Everything's done here. Time to head home." Jeff said. He nodded at Scott. "Let's go."

Alan and Gordon had helped with the cordoning off of all roads that led to the bridge and were waiting in a clearing for Virgil to come and get them.

Once all the boys were in their 'birds, they started for home. John's voice broke into their banter. "There's been an avalanche in Russia. Hundreds of people are trapped and there's no way for local rescue to get them all. If you're not that tired…"

"We're on our way." Jeff said. "Where in Russia?"

**A/N: I won't be updating for a week or so, as I'll be on vacation and I have massive amounts of packing to do. After that updates may slow down because school starts again and I was overly ambitious and signed up for too many classes. Oops. Anyway, I'll keep writing. Hope you enjoy! =)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: again, I don't own. =)**

**I'll get things going in this chapter =P Thanks for reviews, they're greatly appreciated!**

"It's in the Ural Mountains in the Southern range. According to the calls I re-… -stranded and abo-…-ing."

Jeff frowned. "John, could you repeat that? We only got bits and pieces." The screen in front of him pixilated and then returned John's puzzled face.

Up on Five, John frowned. The new communications network must be malfunctioning, he thought. But he was still receiving live updates from around the world. It seemed to be an isolated problem. He called the island and Brain's face appeared. "Y-y-yes, John" the scientist said.

"I'm having a problem with the communications, Brains. I can't get a clear message to or from Thunderbirds one and two. Could you contact them for me?"

Brains nodded. "H-h-h-wait a second, please." He said and contacted Jeff and the boys. "M-m-mr. Tracy, J-j-j- your son said he c-c-c- wasn't able to call you?"

Jeff nodded.

"The avalanche d-d-d-devastated a small village and s-s-s-a few tourists. A group of skiers are t-t-t-stranded on an l-l-ledge above the d-d-d-avalanche zone. S-s-s-similar buildups of snow a-a-a-have been detected on nearby mountains." Brains relayed and rattled off the coordinates of the disaster.

"Thanks, Brains. Do you think you could fix communications from the ground?"

Brains shook his head. "N-n-no, Mr. Tracy. I c-c-c-can go to t-t-t-t-five and f-f-f-correct the problem there."

Jeff nodded his agreement. "Have Fermat pilot, if that's possible."

"He'll be e-e-e-e-delighted, Mr. Tracy." Brains said.

Jeff smiled. "Good, I'll expect to hear from you as soon as the glitch is fixed. Jeff out."

…

Ash groaned quietly when her door opened. Light from the hallway shafted in. She blinked as she sat up. "Yes?"

"Aislinn, w-we h-h-h-need to go up t-to t-t-t-five to c-c-c-fix a communication problem. You'll be a-a-a-ok?" Brains asked.

"We? Fermat's going too?" she asked tiredly.

Brains nodded.

"Thanks for telling me, Brains. Have a good trip."

"We'll try, Miss. Tracy"

Brains closed the door and Ash resumed the exciting task of staring at her ceiling. She should be out there, with her family. But no, she was _waaaay_ to delicate for that. She sighed in frustration. This line of thinking would get her nowhere.

She rolled over and grabbed the remote for her lights off her bed stand. Her lights turned on, illumining her room. She heard the sounds of Thunderbird three taking off and mentally berated herself. _If you want in so much, why didn't you ask to go genius?_ "Mrrrhhhhh" she grumbled and walked over to her desk.

The smooth surface was covered by assorted half-done projects and random bits and pieces of useful implements. It was the one area that was never organized. She sifted through the papers until the smooth vellum of her most recent I-have-a-great-idea-so-I'll-start-it-now-and it'll-be-done-tomorrow project. It had been started almost three weeks ago.

She grabbed her pens, a ruler, and a clipboard and headed to her favorite inside chair. It was positioned so she could look out over the island. In the sunlight, her vision would be filled with brilliant greens and flashes of vibrant reds and blues as birds flitted through the leaves, but now the view was veiled by inky darkness. With a vague hope to loose herself in her work, she began the tedious task of copying writing into her finest calligraphy.

Outside, though, it was anything but calm. The storm that Ash had been caught in would seem a minor sprinkle compared to what was forming.

…

Jeff looked at his monitors with a slightly perplexed look. He sighed. Darn malfunctions. "You heard John, boys. Off to the Ural Mountains it is. The coordinates were entered and the course plotted and the Thunderbirds were off to Russia.

…

As soon as Three was hooked up to Five, Brains was out and ready to investigate the problem. John met him in the hallway.

"The whole network just crashed." John said with a calm façade. His furrowed brow and slightly damp hands gave away his nervousness, though. "We have no connection with earth."

Brains frowned. "Have you t-t-t-attempted to restart the s-s-s-network?"

John nodded. "It gives me an error signal and shuts down" he said "I'm trying to set up the system to forward all messages to the island."

"I'll do t-t-that. You can t-t-t-inform Fermat that we're going back." Brains instructed.

John nodded and ran off to go tell Fermat.

Brains hurried to the control center and expertly pressed the keys to forward all information. After many error messages and hurried code-entering, the scientist was satisfied that all essential information would be forwarded. John was just coming up the hallway to check his progress when Brains left the computers.

"I-i-i-it's done." He said simply.

John nodded and they both hurried back to Three.

…

Jeff frowned as they came in over the danger zone. "We're going in blind, so be careful. You see anything potentially dangerous, you notify everyone else. Understood?"

"FAB, Dad" his boys responded.

"Virgil, I want you to man Two and get the people off of the other red-zoned mountains. After they're put of the way, you can trigger the avalanche. Scott, you Alan and I will look for survivors in the snow. Gordon, you're to help Virgil." Jeff said. "Let's do this."


	5. Chapter 5

**Don't own…but you already knew that.**

**I'm BAAAAAACK! Sorry I made you wait '_' **

The boys split to their respective duties. Wind whipped stray snowflakes around their heads as they hurried to rescue the stranded people.

"Virgil be careful. If you stray a bit too close to these snow buildups, you'll cause the mountain to fall down on us." Scott cheerfully reminded his younger brother.

"No problem, Scott. No need to worry about that. Believe it or not, I can fly my own 'Bird." Virgil retorted with a bit of a bite to his voice.

"Look boys, we're on shortwave radio for now so Virgil and Gordon may be on the fringe of the range as they watch the red zones. " Jeff Tracy reminded his boys. "Don't make stupid choices."

"Thanks, Dad" they all chorused as Virgil and Gordon took off in Two.

O.o.O

Ash pushed away her project with an annoyed sigh. "Darn weather won't let me concentrate."

Wind pushed stray debris against the windows and lightning flashed overhead. Rain smashed against the roof and made an incessant noise deafened only slightly by layers of insulation. The house was quiet, other than that-which was eerie enough as it was. Kyrano and his family had gone to visit their family, she recalled. With everyone else gone, she was strangely alone and the dang weather wouldn't let her enjoy it.

She stood up and entered the hallway. The lights were set on dim setting; the brightest lights came from the control center. She grinned to herself. Maybe this time she would actually find out what her brother's were up to. Maybe this time she could do something.

O.o.O

John sat at the controls of Three, waiting for the systems pre-flight check to finish its run through. He anxiously fiddled with the settings and screens. "Brains" he questioned, "Who's going to go do the landing from the ground?" Usually no one would need to be at the ground control for a landing, but there was a storm cell in the vicinity of the Island and ground control would give him the visuals he needed to help him land safely.

Brains froze at the question. "If w-w-we could contact y-y-Miss. Tracy, she could t-t-convey to us what we w-w-wanted." He suggested hesitantly.

John frowned. "Ash has no idea what we need. If we can even contact her…"

O.o.O

The command control screens were filled with error messages and flashing red lights. "Awww snap!" Aislynn groaned when she saw it. Despite her inexperience, she knew enough about how things worked to perhaps sort out some of the problems. "Besides" she muttered as she ran her fingers over a keyboard, "it's not like there's anyone else here to do it."

She frowned. The screen she was focused on had a simple connection error; one that even she should be able to fix. All it needed was the correct configuration of the satellite number that could relay up-to-date information. Her father had made sure they all knew such numbers in case they ever needed them.

She entered the code and scowled when the error message came up…again. A stray branch crashed against the window. Ash jumped and groaned as a solution came to her mind. "The antenna must be damaged if it can't receive the signal. All I have to do now is fix it." She said sarcastically. Her brothers would need this information though; if she didn't get they could _die. _

With a resigned sigh, she headed to the mudroom to pull on her raingear. Suddenly the lights around her flickered. That wasn't uncommon in such a strong storm; they had backup generators to keep everything up and running. But the lights flicked off and _didn't _come back. "Oh lovely" she muttered to the pitch black room

O.o.O

**Thank you for being so patient =) I had troubles updating and, as it is, this –admittedly-isn't my best work. I apologize and hopefully I can go back and rewrite this sometime. Again my thanks for bearing with me =) Reviews would be much appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Just borrowing =)**

"I can't raise the command center" John muttered with a pointed frown. "It's almost as if the signal's being blocked." The furrows on his brow deepened as he gazed at the array of blinking lights and monitors before him.

Brains gave a small sound of annoyance. The storm's just messing with the c-c-c-communications is a-a-all." He said with a similar frown.

O.o.O

"I can't reach Brains or John" Scott muttered. "How long does it take to fix a comm problem? I can't even pick up command control. Shouldn't I be able to at least do that?" he questioned.

Jeff gave his son a hurried glance. "Look, Scott, we don't have time to worry about that right now. It dangerous enough as is and on top of that we don't have communications. Focus! They'll be fine." The commander rebuked his son.

"Yes sir" Scott responded mechanically. His father was probably right; it was just a minor glitch. With a new determination, Scott resumed his task of looking for people lost in the snow.

o.O.o

Aislynn groped in the pitch black for a few minutes before locating a flashlight. She flipped it on and resolutely pushed open the door. Immediately, she was almost knocked over by a strong gust of wind. Her weight shifted to her injured ankle and she hissed in pain. The door was slammed shut and she decided she would have a better chance getting to the generator shed then back into the villa. Her body was struck by debris of various sizes; she groaned at the mere thought of the bruises she would have in the morning.

Various shadows flickered in the thin, piercing beam of her flashlight. With a weary determination, she forced herself to persevere to the generator shed. In the thin beam of light she glanced at the ruins of the shed in front of her. Dismayed, she sprinted the rest of the way and found the generators smashed to bits beneath a rather weighty tree branch.

She frowned. Without running generators, it would be rather pointless to try and fix the antenna. "Mrrrnhh" she groaned in annoyance. The backup generators were in the hangers –on the other side of the compound. They had to be turned on manually in cases like this. The antenna receiver was at the top of the tallest roof of the villa.

Ash glanced at the forboding shape of her own house. Now all she had to do was climb it and fix the antenna. "What could be easier?" she muttered as she hoisted herself up onto a balcony and then to a roof.

O.o.O

Virgil carefully maneuvered his 'bird as close to the mountain as he could without setting off another avalanche. "OK Gordon, I can't get any closer. They're all yours." He was referring to a group of stranded skiers. They had realized the danger they were in when the snow buildup above them shifted. Rather than try to outrun the inevitable cascade of snow, they had stayed put as not to risk triggering the snow.

Very carefully, Gordon deployed safety lines a good deal away from the buildup. This was going to be tricky.

**Another chapter…in like a week. That's some sort of record for me, I think! Hope you enjoyed; reviews GREATLY appreciated.**


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